New Zealand's Greatest Test XI

Jumping on the bandwagon, here's my NZ all-time Test XI

Glenn Turner
Stewie Dempster
Bert Sutcliffe
Martin Crowe
Martin Donnelly
John R Reid
Chris Cairns
Daniel Vettori
Sir Richard Hadlee
Ian Smith
Shane Bond

good side kiwi, however i would have hadlee about vettori in the batting order, also feel smith at 10 is harsh.

I confess to not knowing a huge amount about NZ cricket pre-96 or so (with the obvious exceptions of Sutcliffe, Crowe and Hadlee, oh and Smith too). However I'd like to see a place found for Stephen Fleming, a very good batsman and an excellent captain.

agree, fleming arguably one of the greatest test captains of all time should be in the side.

My team would look something like
Turner
Richardson
Sutcliffe
Fleming
Astle
Cairns
Vettori
Hadlee
Smith
Doull
Bond

Like I say, not an expert on this particular subject...

Have to admit I meant to put Smith in ahead of Hadlee in the batting lineup - I always felt the late '80s lower middle order of 7. Bracewell 8. Hadlee 9. Smith was the wrong way around.

And there's a case for Fleming ahead of Reid - Reid carried the NZ team for years as batsman, captain, superb (for the time) fielder, seam and spin bowler.

Stewie Dempster was unlucky to only get 10 tests - NZ didn't have test match status when he started, plus he moved to England (and captained Lancashire) in 1937. But a test average of 65, with most of his tests vs England is second only to a certain Australian at the time. And averaging 45 in 1st class cricket over 200-odd matches is also impressive for the '30s.

Cricinfo's XI was
Glenn Turner
Stewie Dempster
Bert Sutcliffe
Martin Crowe
Martin Donnelly
John R Reid
Daniel Vettori
Sir Richard Hadlee
Ian Smith
Shane Bond
Jack Cowie
for comparison.

Turner
Dempster
Sutcliffe
M Crowe
Donnelly
C Cairns
Hadlee
Vettori
Smith
Bond
Cowie

im suprised people havent gone for fleming...very good batsman, and one of the best captains of all time.

cricketfan90 wrote:im suprised people havent gone for fleming...very good batsman, and one of the best captains of all time.

He may have got in my team if I was picking six batsmen.

My all-time All Blacks Team would be:-

1 Glenn Turner
2 John Wright
3 Bert Sutcliffe
4 Martin Crowe
5 Geoff Howarth
6 John R Reid
7 Chris Cairns
8 Sir Richard Hadlee
9 Ian Smith
10 Shane Bond
11 Daniel Vettori
12th Man Jeremy Coney

My All Time Black Caps XI:

Turner
Wright
Sutcliffe
Crowe (C)
Donnelly
Reid
Smith (wk)
Cairns
Vettori
Hadlee
Bond

As good as Sutcliffe was, though never having seen him play, I am going to discount him from my team.....I am a child of the 80's and there can be only one first drop....Andrew Jones!

1 Stewie Dempster
2 Glen Turner
3 Andrew Jones
4 Martin Crowe
5 Stephen Fleming
6 John R Reid
7 Chris Cairns
8 Adam Parore
9 Daniel Vettori
10 Sir Richard Hadlee
11 Shane Bond

chewed_mintie wrote:As good as Sutcliffe was, though never having seen him play, I am going to discount him from my team.....I am a child of the 80's and there can be only one first drop....Andrew Jones!

1 Stewie Dempster
2 Glen Turner
3 Andrew Jones
4 Martin Crowe
5 Stephen Fleming
6 John R Reid
7 Chris Cairns
8 Adam Parore
9 Daniel Vettori
10 Sir Richard Hadlee
11 Shane Bond

good to see fleming in your side

Following on from some of the XI's being posted on the Windies thread, here's my worst NZ test XI (based on players I've seen, so post 1980)

Blair Pocock
Blair Hartland
Geoff Howarth (c)
Daniel Flynn (handy talent, never quite made it)
Dipak Patel (he was originally selected as a batsman before evolving into a spinner slow bowler)
Shane Thompson (orginally a useful #6 and 3rd/4th seamer, evolved into a useless off-spinning allrounder. Scored his only ton to win a test match vs Pakistan that was probably fixed)
Robbie Hart (wk)
Grant Bradburn (a very poor man's Dipak Patel)
Justin Vaughan (useful 1st class batsman and ODI dibbly dobbly seamer, good doctor and competent administrator but should never ever have opened the bowling in a test in SL)
Gavin Larsen (great ODI bowler, innocuous in tests)
Chris Pringle (only any good if he ball-tampered)

Surprised no one has mentioned Heath Davis, the fast bowler who toured England in 1994 and famously started his test career with a first ball wide down the leg-side for a boundary. Also, what about Geoff Allott as being the worse ever number 11's in world cricket history.

gboycottnut wrote:Surprised no one has mentioned Heath Davis, the fast bowler who toured England in 1994 and famously started his test career with a first ball wide down the leg-side for a boundary. Also, what about Geoff Allott as being the worse ever number 11's in world cricket history.

Geoff Allott was a much better batsman than Chris "Phantom" Martin. The 101 minute duck record is a little misleading, as he and Harris turned down quite a few singles so that he wouldn't retain the strike. And the time their partnership used up saved a test match.

I've been trying to forget Heath Te-Ihi-O-Te-Rangi* Davis

*Maori for "The Sun Rules the Heavens"

didn't Davis pick up 7 wickets in an ODI once? Or am I thinking of someone else?

Mad for Chelsea wrote:didn't Davis pick up 7 wickets in an ODI once? Or am I thinking of someone else?

His ODI PB was 4/35. He could well have bowled 7 no-balls in an over at some point though.